First and foremost let me say ‘Thank You’ to Jenna Galicki for joining me today. It is not often that readers and fans get to interact with some of their favorite authors, and as reviewer for Evermore Books it is a privilege to be able to do that as well as have the honor of meeting Jenna in person! (She had great shoes and hair, by the way!) I can only hope that the questions I ask, will give our fans and readers an extra peek into her life that is not only informative but exciting… so enjoy!
Leslie: Jenna one of the questions I like to ask to those who write M/M or Ménage is how did you choose to write within this genre? What made you decide to take this course other than “traditional” or M/F romance, paranormal, or erotica?
Jenna: I write m/m, because I love m/m. It's predominantly what I read. The only thing more exciting than two hot guys together, is getting in between them – or at least being in the mix! ☺
Leslie: I know you have some of your books in a series, do you find that gives you an edge over other M/M authors with just single book publicaton?
Jenna: I think writing a series has both benefits and drawbacks. Readers who loved the first book eagerly await the next in the series and are constantly on the lookout for more. On the other hand, if a reader didn't care for the first book in the series, or didn't feel compelled to read about any of the secondary character, they might not pick up the other books in the series, which is a shame, because there is so much more to the story that needs to be told.
Leslie: How important is it to you when you write to know how your book ends before you write it, or do you just let the story come to you as you go along? If that book is part of a series, does all of that apply to the series or just book by book?
Jenna: I know how all my books are going to end when I sit down to write them. How we get there is the tricky part. ☺ The story unfolds and often changes as the word count goes up. Essentially, I have the outline, and the story writes itself. I don't think I've purposely added a scene in a book with the plan of building on it in a subsequent book in the series. Scenes in earlier books in the series do inspire scenes in the latter books though. That's part of the writing process.
Leslie: Who are your main inspirations when it comes to sparking your creativity? Would you say they are fellow authors, fans, street teams, friends, family?
Jenna: Music is a big inspiration to me, especially when writing scenes where the band is on stage. I go to a lot of concerts and draw on my experiences and how the music makes me feel. I find it enables me to add music as a very realistic presence in the story. I've often been told that readers feel like they can hear the music when they read one of my concert scenes—and I'm thrilled at the compliment!
My other inspiration are the people around me—total strangers that cross my path every day. Watching a group of people having coffee or friends having lunch often stir up a story line.
Leslie: Let's talk about the first book you wrote! What made you decide to write it, and take the leap to publish it? Also, did you always want to be a writer?
Jenna: I have been writing stories in my head since I was a kid, only back then they always centered around imaginary animal friends. (I'm a huge animal lover!) As I got older, they centered around people and were always elaborate love triangles.
I had a dream that fed a story line in my head for several weeks, and I realized it could be a book, so I put it on paper. It turned into a complete novel that I still haven't published. It really just needs polishing, but I have so many other books I'm trying to finish that I just haven't had the time. My plan is to get that book released next year.
I didn't know I wanted to be a writer until I started writing! Now, I can't imagine not writing. There are people in my head knocking to get out and whose stories ned to be told. ☺
Leslie: Final question(s)… so, I guess I will make this one count! Which book are you most proud of so far? Is there anything exciting planned for the future?
Jenna: That's hard to answer since I'm bonded to all of my books, but The Prince of Punk Rock has been voted as a finalist for Best Bisexual Romance by the Bi Writers Association. This was voted on by a panel of judges who I've never met, and who probably never heard of me or my books before they read it. That's a very proud moment for me.
***Bonus*** If you can, describe to us a typical writing day!
Jenna: When I'm not sitting in front of my computer, I write on my tablet every chance I get: to and from work on the train, on my lunch hour, on line at the post office, etc. Basically, if I'm awake, I'm writing! ☺
Leslie: Jenna one of the questions I like to ask to those who write M/M or Ménage is how did you choose to write within this genre? What made you decide to take this course other than “traditional” or M/F romance, paranormal, or erotica?
Jenna: I write m/m, because I love m/m. It's predominantly what I read. The only thing more exciting than two hot guys together, is getting in between them – or at least being in the mix! ☺
Leslie: I know you have some of your books in a series, do you find that gives you an edge over other M/M authors with just single book publicaton?
Jenna: I think writing a series has both benefits and drawbacks. Readers who loved the first book eagerly await the next in the series and are constantly on the lookout for more. On the other hand, if a reader didn't care for the first book in the series, or didn't feel compelled to read about any of the secondary character, they might not pick up the other books in the series, which is a shame, because there is so much more to the story that needs to be told.
Leslie: How important is it to you when you write to know how your book ends before you write it, or do you just let the story come to you as you go along? If that book is part of a series, does all of that apply to the series or just book by book?
Jenna: I know how all my books are going to end when I sit down to write them. How we get there is the tricky part. ☺ The story unfolds and often changes as the word count goes up. Essentially, I have the outline, and the story writes itself. I don't think I've purposely added a scene in a book with the plan of building on it in a subsequent book in the series. Scenes in earlier books in the series do inspire scenes in the latter books though. That's part of the writing process.
Leslie: Who are your main inspirations when it comes to sparking your creativity? Would you say they are fellow authors, fans, street teams, friends, family?
Jenna: Music is a big inspiration to me, especially when writing scenes where the band is on stage. I go to a lot of concerts and draw on my experiences and how the music makes me feel. I find it enables me to add music as a very realistic presence in the story. I've often been told that readers feel like they can hear the music when they read one of my concert scenes—and I'm thrilled at the compliment!
My other inspiration are the people around me—total strangers that cross my path every day. Watching a group of people having coffee or friends having lunch often stir up a story line.
Leslie: Let's talk about the first book you wrote! What made you decide to write it, and take the leap to publish it? Also, did you always want to be a writer?
Jenna: I have been writing stories in my head since I was a kid, only back then they always centered around imaginary animal friends. (I'm a huge animal lover!) As I got older, they centered around people and were always elaborate love triangles.
I had a dream that fed a story line in my head for several weeks, and I realized it could be a book, so I put it on paper. It turned into a complete novel that I still haven't published. It really just needs polishing, but I have so many other books I'm trying to finish that I just haven't had the time. My plan is to get that book released next year.
I didn't know I wanted to be a writer until I started writing! Now, I can't imagine not writing. There are people in my head knocking to get out and whose stories ned to be told. ☺
Leslie: Final question(s)… so, I guess I will make this one count! Which book are you most proud of so far? Is there anything exciting planned for the future?
Jenna: That's hard to answer since I'm bonded to all of my books, but The Prince of Punk Rock has been voted as a finalist for Best Bisexual Romance by the Bi Writers Association. This was voted on by a panel of judges who I've never met, and who probably never heard of me or my books before they read it. That's a very proud moment for me.
***Bonus*** If you can, describe to us a typical writing day!
Jenna: When I'm not sitting in front of my computer, I write on my tablet every chance I get: to and from work on the train, on my lunch hour, on line at the post office, etc. Basically, if I'm awake, I'm writing! ☺
